The highly anticipated final series of The Crown has been released, showing the relationship between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, but what do the Royal Family think of the Netflix show?
Part one of season six of The Crown launched on the streaming platform in the UK on Thursday 16 November with four episodes available to watch. The second part of six episodes will be released next month on 14 December.
The royal drama has been captivating royal fans since it launched back in November 2016, it has welcomed some big-name actors portraying the likes of The Queen and Princess Diana and has won a bundle of awards. But it hasn't come without its criticism, including among members of the Royal Family themselves, despite a disclaimer being put out that it is fictionalised.
Let's take a look at what the Royal Family have said about The Crown over the years…
Prince Harry
Among the family, the Duke of Sussex has been the most vocal when it comes to expressing his opinions on the Netflix series. After he stepped down from his royal titles, Harry appeared on The Late Late Show With James Corden in February 2021 and spoke about The Crown.
He said: "They don’t pretend to be news. It’s fiction… But it’s loosely based on the truth.
"It gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that.
"I’m way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife, or myself." A few months later in May, he was asked again about the series while on Dax Shepard’s The Armchair Expert podcast.
Harry joked: "I’ve seen elements of it…I hear it’s very popular." He told Dax that he had recently been asked by TV host James and added: "Seeing your life written about is something the royals are told they need to accept.
"I don’t think you ever get used to it [having your life written about] but it is part of that life where you kind of have to—at least or certainly I was told this for many years – it’s just the way that it is you have to accept that they are going to write xyz about you.
"It’s like 'but what if it’s not true,' yeah right and it’s like 'well just don’t show them that you care because if you show them that you care then they’re going to do it more and more and more.' So basically you’re screwed, like there’s absolutely no way out of this and so yeah."
In January 2023, Harry admitted that he had watched The Crown after being asked what he thought of season five – this covered the breakdown of his parent's marriage in the 1990s. The royal replied: "Yes, I have actually watched The Crown – the older stuff and the more recent stuff."
When asked if he's ever been tempted to "fact check", Harry said: "Yes, I do actually. Which, by the way, is another reason why it’s so important that history has it right." Meghan Markle also admitted to watching "some of it" during their CBS interview in March 2021.
Prince William
The Prince of Wales and heir to the throne has not officially spoken out about the series but reportedly isn't a fan of the show. In 2022, a source close to William told The Sunday Times: "[Prince William] has spoken about it, and now, as it is coming closer to the present, he is particularly concerned about it. William does think it is damaging.
"The Royal Family know a lot of it is nonsense, but it is really harsh and hurtful." Earlier this month it was reported by the Express that the royal would not be watching the final series due to scenes of Princess Diana's ghost.
A friend claimed to the publisher that it would be "incredibly hurtful" for William to "have his mother exploited over and over again in this tawdry fashion by Netflix."
Queen Elizabeth II
According to reports, the late Queen "really liked" the series and used to watch it. Actress Vanessa Kirby, who played Princess Margaret for the first two seasons, once claimed that her friend overheard Princess Eugenie talking about the series at a party in 2017.
She told Harper’s Bazaar: "A friend of mine was at a party and didn’t know anyone, so he sidled up to this group who were talking about The Crown.
"One girl said, 'Well, my granny watches it and really likes it.' It slowly dawned on him that the girl was Eugenie and her granny was the Queen."
Princess Anne
The daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip admitted that she found season one "quite interesting" during Anne: The Princess Royal At 70 documentary in 2020. She also commented on actress Erin Doherty’s comments about styling her signature hair which she said took up to two hours.
Princess Anne said: "The actress was talking about how long it took them to do their hair like I did, and I'm thinking, 'How could you possibly take that long?'
"I mean, it takes me 10 or 15 minutes."
Princess Eugenie
The princess has previously confessed to watching "a couple of episodes" and told Hello in 2017: "It is filmed beautifully.
"The music is wonderful, the story is beautiful. You feel very proud to watch it. I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s how I felt when I watched it."
Sarah Ferguson
Princess Eugenie's mother, Sarah Ferguson revealed to Us in 2021 that she "loved" her wedding scene and the way it had been shown on The Crown. She said: "I thought it was filmed beautifully. The cinematography was excellent."
Charles Spencer
Princess Diana’s brother has opened up about the show on ITV and said: "The worry for me is that people see a programme like that and they forget that it is fiction.
"They assume, especially foreigners, I find Americans tell me they have watched The Crown as if they have taken a history lesson. Well, they haven’t." He also revealed that Netflix had asked for permission to film at Althorp, the Spencer family's estate, but he denied access.
Zara and Mike Tindall
The former rugby star said in 2020: "I only got about halfway through season three, so I started watching season three last night and then I'll catch up. But I've seen it all over the place, and on these popular midday TV shows.
"I'm quite intrigued to see where they go with it because obviously, it's an era people are fascinated with. It's getting to more things that people know about, isn't it, and have opinions about – so that's where it gets difficult", His wife, the daughter of Anne, Princess Royal previously joked that she wanted Jessica Biel to play her on the show.
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